SCIENCE IN BOXING.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXIII, Issue 9089, 28 April 1890, Page 2

SCIENCE IN BOXING.

(New Tork Sun.) The public in general seem to have ai erroneous idea ot the value of scientifl boxing. They read the stories that appea in the newspapers periodically of th fashionable society men who, being in suited by a gang of corner loafers astonish the crowd by jumping in an< thrashing the entire outfit, without re ceiving any punishment in return, an< explain this phenomena by saying ‘'Although slight in build, Mr D Courtlandt Swell is the cleverest pupi of Professor Windbag.” v hen there | the t<xf) of the slim College graduate. wilj the blue-glass spectaclesf who cleans outf train of bad men and who, " though dec®: tive in appearance, was the most scientist boxer at Yale.” I

These and other highly coloured yafn have had a natural effect upon the averfag reader, and consequently a belief is pobrt lent that a scientific boxer is a sort < wonder, to whom it would bo bat comipo exercise to polish off three or four ordiiaar citizens ignorant of the art of boidnj Nothing could be further from tho trut, than this impression or the oft told fair tales. In actual life the fashionablesociet man foolish enough to attempt to tackle i crowd of ronghs would probably be left fo dead, while the college champion would ru; great chances of being thrown from th train. The fact of the matter is science o cleverness in boxing is an ad van tag greatly over-estimated, anJ the knowledg of the manly art is of no earthly account i not hacked up by the proper spirit, peculiar sort of courage, which in sportin circles is termed "sand.” Even with thi requisite, the cleverest man in the countr; would not be foolish enough to pit himsel against three or four men, and any heroi story of that nature may be put down a chaff or a downright falsehood. Fighters are born, and not made. J young man might receive tuition froi Mike Donovan or any other noted! teache for a year, and learn thoroughly the art q leading, parrying, countering, cros;j countering, dodging, chopping, uppe cutting, in fact all that his aocomplishe tutor was master of, and the* dds are fiv to one that the first altercation he migh get in with some fish peddler or true, driver that had never received a lessoi from an instructor, he would be ignomini ously whipped in spite of all his so-calle science, unless he possessed the sam amount of courage and willingness to tak punishment as his hardy opponent. O course, all.things being equal, the scientifl fighter would have the advantage. The requisite qualities of a snccessfu boxer or pugilist lie not in merely knowinj how to put up the hands, but in the abilit; to give and receive punishment. Besid skill and judgment, you want courag strength, endurance, and more than s this, grit, which is an utter disregard c the punishment you are receiving. Th hare knowledge of boxing is but an inci dental in fighting. An apt pupil coul learn the half dozen moves that are tough in a couple of weeks, but his access would lie according to the application h made of the different manoeuvres, and o what material he was composed. In looking over the list of amateu boxers that have won the championship of this country, an observer cannot fail t notice that the honours are invariabl; distributed among the minor Clubs, sad as the Pastime Athletic Club, Star Athleti Club, Scottish-American Athletic Clul and so on, the members of which are nearl; all represented among the working people It has long been a subject of comment tha none of the crack boxers of.our prominen athletic Clubs, with the exception of th Athletic Club of the Schuylkill Navy, ente these championship contests. They hav the best of tuition, ample time and inone; to train properly, but while they asaidu ously seek championship honours an< prizes in every otter branch of athleti sport, they do not seem to hanker afte boxing prestige. The Philadelphia con tingent do, but they are generally dispose of quite easily by their plebeian and les scientific opponents. Now it becomes an interesting questioi what are the motives that prevent th gentlemen boxers from mounting the stag of the Metropolitan Opera House an trouncing the life out of these represents fives from minor Clubs, whom they tin doubtedly out-class in the niceties o science. That they do not do so leaves i plain inference, namely, that they do no possess the proper bottom —or vernacular; speaking "sand”—to accomplish the jbl It requires a certain amount of reckles courage deliberately to enter a ring wrti the probabilities of an unmerciful pounding or disfigurement as the result. . They ma; he courageous enough, but still not posses this peculiar requisite termed "sand.” On the other hand, representatives o the minor clubs have this virtue, thi bulldog courage, to a high degree. Gene rally they are brought up in a hard school left to themselves, they learn, to fight a toddlers, and the knocks they receive ii early life help to toughen their sensibilitiei Their chief desire as grown boys is to b able to thrash anybody within the raditt of their circle. The pounding receive incidental to the furtherance of this am bition renders them impervious after while to the sense and shock of pain, an thus they grow to ho young and snccessfu fighters without elaborate instruction fror high-priced professors. The average' rich man’s son takes hi boxing lessons as a matter of course, andi he has a leaning • that way become expert in time. Ho may probably be th cleverest in his class or club, and in du time may be seized with championehi; aspirations. He meets the defiant-looking young man from the slums, and, though h may greatly outclass him scientifically, h is at a great disadvantage. He has had; c course, innumerable sets-to with his ii structor and club mates, but obvious! they have never hit him real haze He may have at times received a dii coloured eye or bloody nose, but neve been hit with the force with which a, mnl kicks. Ho meets this rough and read; hardy opponent, who would sooner dispels with the gloves, and, although the gentle man can outpoint him at long range, th fellow won’t fight that way. He getsrigh down to close work, and though scienc may avail the aristocrat somewhat, it can not withstand this determined.opponent who is perfectly satisfied to receive two o three blows for every one he succeeds 'i; landing. But such blows as he deliver sends the gentleman’s head up into the ai every time, and he is soon in a dozed con dition, and the contest is over. If th defeated man has no "sand” this is hi first and last appearance publicly, and h confines himself in the future to boxin with his clubmates, and is content wit being the cleverest man in the Club. This has been the invariable result eac! time that science has pitted itself strength and " sand.” As stated, if ,{h scientific boxer has the same amount o pluck and endurance as hia unakilfi opponent he will in the course of evenl win. Bnt if he does not possess either, a the scientific principles are useless excep to make a pretty drawing-room exMbitioi